Harry Potter - Saiyan Reincarnate
by sliver1991
Summary: Harry Potter's soul breaks when he is forced into a ritual that is supposed to send him back in time. Death request's Son Gohan to take the role of Harry Potter in order to prevent the world's destruction. (Indefinite Hiatus)
1. Prologue

Gohan had to admit that he was rather intrigued by the situation he found himself in. When Dende called him to the lookout telling him that there was a being that asked to meet him, Gohan did not expect the cloaked figure that looked like it came from a children's tale and introduced itself as Death.

A quick glance at Dende, who held the position of Earth's Kami for several decades now, earned him a slight nod, confirming the words of the being in front of him. Gohan shrugged in acceptance. While this Death did not look like King Yemma, nor like any of the Kais that Gohan met or heard of, it wasn't completely out of place with what he had experienced over his life.

What did catch Gohan by surprise was the declaration itself. "I am not the Death of a world that is unknown to yours, running parallel and never crossing, yet the foolishness of the mortals forces me to look elsewhere, for one to insert in order to prevent complete imbalance."

Someone seeking out aid wasn't really strange for Gohan, though it was usually Goku that rushed to the rescue in the hope of a decent challenge, but even the Gods wouldn't claim to reside in a different world. Their own planets were very much part of the universe, though rather distant, and Gohan did learn their locations, some out of pure necessity.

When Gohan's kinda-uncle (though he would never accept the title, as then he would be accepting Goku as a brother), Vegeta, had taken over as God of Destruction and accepted training under Whis, Bulma had insisted on having a visiting Vegeta. Even with wishing to appear younger, and knowing that Vegeta did love her in his own weird way, Bulma was worried that with his new job and the long commute, Vegeta would grow distant and forget about his family.

With his father, Goku, constantly making training trips to different planets, the burden fell on Gohan. Though Gohan really did not complain, as it gave him an unnecessary excuse to train with his father, and encouraged him to learn techniques that he should have learned ages ago, mainly the Instant Transmission, though the other random abilities that Goku picked up yet seldom used, such as the memory reading technique he used on Krillin when arriving on Namek, were also nice to know. The event led to Gohan going about and picking all the techniques he could from the other Z-fighters, such as Tien's multi-form and four witches techniques, and some of the magical techniques he could learn from Dende, mainly the magic materialization and healing abilities. Gohan had an easier time learning the techniques due to his scholarly nature, and the training helped him keep the promise he made after the Tournament of Power, to not neglect his training.

Gohan mentally shook off the trip down memory lane and eyed Death once more. "Why me? A new challenge in a new world sounds like something Dad would love." He offered.

Death nodded. "He would, potentially, do well, but he is not our first choice. He is rather straightforward, a bit too simple for our liking. While he will be able to fix the main issue, he is unlikely to have the patience and subtlety needed to handle what comes next. Understand that what is required is not merely a visit to a different world to solve their problems and return, but a complete reincarnation, to live the life of one who is no longer able to do so."

At Death's pause, Gohan couldn't help but frown. It was obvious that the being is going to further explain, why did it need to wait for Gohan to prompt him to do so? While Gohan enjoyed those dramatic narrative tools when reading a book, living through it wasn't quite as enjoyable. Well, at least he wasn't dealing with Zeno. "Explain." Gohan pushed briskly.

"I was ge-" Death seemed to reconsider when it noticed Gohan's eyes narrow. "First, we should explain that in the world we preside over, there are no knowledge of the methods to harness the power you know as Ki, and should you choose to accept my request, you'll be the only one, or first should you choose to train others. Some beings in that world are naturally attuned to the life energy and are able to harness it to their own uses, though they call it Magic instead. The difference in training method leads to far less energy they can access when compared to your use of Ki, but the degree of control they have over their energy is far greater. Your Magic Materialization technique, for example, is one that is shared with that world, though only powerful magicals can perform it to such degree as you can, but even those cannot do so are able to use lesser forms of the art to achieve greater variety than your technique can."

Gohan nodded his acceptance and motioned for Death to continue his spiel. Having your uncle as god really helps keeping it casual with the anthropomorphic personification of Death, though Death did not seem to appreciate the attitude. "One such magical, a Wizard named Harry James Potter, had been chosen, or forced, by the Fates to carry a heavy burden and save the world from great evil, one who named himself Voldemort. Harry James Potter had overcome many challenges and eventually succeeded, but mortals are foolish and greedy. A group of magicals believed that things could have gone better, and decided that tempering with time was a worthy risk."

"Harry James Potter was kidnapped and used in a ritual that would send him back in time, for the sake of attempting to accomplish his goal while leaving the magical world less damaged. Their attempt was quite disastrous. Their own timeline was unraveled, so there is no going back, however the ritual could have still succeeded in their main goal, had they adjusted it for the actual soul they were using. Harry James Potter was struck by a powerful spell, known as the killing curse, twice in his life. The spell is supposed to severe the soul from the body and send it directly to us, however a twist of Fates had prevented it from happening in both times, returning Harry James Potter's soul back. But it was not whole, it was damaged and tainted by our touch, and required cleansing before the ritual was enacted."

"That did not happen. The soul was damaged further and now it is shattered, cannot be repaired. Should we leave it as is, Harry James Potter would be unable to function and the body will die soon after the supposed time trip. Without Harry James Potter, the world may still function, but the risk is too great to take, as the burden of the Fates lies upon him. What we offer you, should you accept our request, is what remains of Harry James Potter's soul, those being his magic and memories, his knowledge. You will be placed in his past, replacing him the moment he was first attacked by the killing curse, and from then you will be free to act as you please. The future that Harry James Potter experienced is no longer there, so you will have no restrictions on how to change it, though the more you do, the less you can predict. That is your prerogative."

Gohan frowned. He didn't want to leave an entire world to die, but… "You are asking me to save your world, while giving up on mine, leaving my family and friends behind." He pointed out.

Death slowly shook its head. "Once your life in our world is over, you shall be allowed to return to yours. You will be rewarded, and shall return with all the knowledge you have obtain, to any point in time you choose, be it past, present or even future, should you so desire. You could return to this very moment, or to your own childhood, should you wish things were different. There may be additional offers, but those would be discussed then."

The new information changed the request quite dramatically, which frustrated Gohan further. Why not tell such a thing straight away, instead of waiting for Gohan to ask. Was it for Death's own amusement, or was it some sort of test? Though, knowing his father, he could've jumped at the opportunity without even considering such things as… Family. Gohan understood his father's personality, but he couldn't lie and say that he was fine with the way Goku practically abandoned everyone every time he went off training, or dying...

Gohan considered how such an adventure would influence him. He was expected to live an entire life, which would be rather depressing if he was going to avoid building up a new family so he would risk hurting the feelings he had towards the family he already has. Would having a life where he loves another woman damage the love he currently has towards Videl? It took a moment of meditation for Gohan to decide what to do.

He would accept, Son Gohan would be reborn as Harry James Potter. The feelings he has towards the people of his world will remain there, and Harry will build his own connections. Once it is the time for Harry to move on, those feelings would be left behind, and Gohan... Would travel back in time. He knew it. He made many mistakes and wasted much of his potential back then. He'll just have to work at it to get back with Videl, and he'll probably tell her everything… He'll probably tell everything to the woman he falls in love with as Harry as well, truthfully. There was a lot he'll need to consider, but for now, he could only push forward.

Opening his eyes, Gohan gave Death a nod, and found himself engulfed in green light.


	2. The Arrival of Gohan

_Opening his eyes, Gohan gave Death a nod, and found himself engulfed in green light. _

As the light subsided, Harry James Potter looked at his surroundings, gathering his bearings. The memories of a future lost were flooding his mind, threatening to overwhelm him, but his practice with Son Goku's mind reading technique allowed him to push through and withstand the pressure.

Now he knew where and when he was. The body of a woman, eyes green and dead, hair flaming red, laid next to the crib he was sitting in. Nearby, a pile of robes and a wand. It would be soon that others would arrive. The rat, the snake, the giant and the dog. He needed to make a plan, yet he knew he didn't have much time. He'll need to prioritize… And he'll need knowledge to handle the future as well. He knew that Dumbledore, after handling things, will probably have this house cleared, everything stored for safekeeping. But Harry would need access to these resources before Dumbledore seemed ready to hand them over.

"Moppy!" Harry called out. He felt that House Elf names are often rather stupid sounding, perhaps it was a decision made so that nobody takes House Elves too seriously? From his memories, Harry knew that the Potters used to have them, but Lily Potter did not appreciate the gesture. She wanted the House Elves freed, similar to Hermione, but she did not know about the bond, nor was she willing to listen. Harry hoped that Hermione would be more reasonable, as the memories he had of the girl were of a headstrong woman like Gohan's mother and highly intelligent like Bulma. He tried not to think too much about finding the girl of his memories attractive on moment, then thinking of how she reminded him his original world's mother the next. Well, it was often said that people are attracted to those who resemble their parents, so he didn't think he was creepy.

His mind was about to wander towards Ginny but the pop a House Elf interrupted those thoughts. Harry was grateful that James Potter decided that he would simply send the elves to handle other businesses instead of freeing them outright. Had he done that, the House Elves would need to find another home or die, and they could potentially be abused like Dobby…

"What can Moppy do for Young Master?" The House Elf squeaked. It, or rather she, was doing a fine job of avoiding glancing at the body of one Lily Potter. Harry wondered if it was for his sake, the elf's devotion, or maybe the elves resented Lily's attitude and didn't feel burdened by her death. Considering what Dobby did in an attempt to keep Harry safe, there was a chance that all house elves were somewhat unhinged.

That thought was rather unnerving, so Harry decided not to delve into it at the moment. "Take everything of value and hide it away somewhere safe. Don't let anyone see you." Harry commanded. He knew that House Elves weren't used to politeness and would be quite startled by it, and at the moment he had no time to have Moppy burst into tears just because he said 'please'. "Start with vault keys, then books and magical items. Leave furniture behind… I'll call you later, and tomorrow I'll probably be at a muggle house, so be careful and sneaky when I call you."

He was rather glad that his body wasn't younger. It was probably due to his older mind and magic that he could speak fluently. Moppy quickly went to work, not questioning the sudden intelligence of her Young Master, nor the condition of Old Master and Evil Mistress. She finally had the chance to work directly for her Young Master and it would not be proper to ask.

Harry prepared himself, and soon enough the next event triggered. He wasn't quite sure why he thought of what was going on as though it was a game, but he assumed that something about his physical body was influencing his maturity, which he gladly accepted. As long as his intelligence and knowledge weren't being influencing, being too mature would only add difficulty to his new life, as he wouldn't be looking forward to interacting with children.

Regardless of those thoughts, a short and pudgy man that Harry recognized as Peter Pettigrew, who had resembled a rat, though not as much as he was when the original Harry met him, entered the room. The man actually squeaked when he saw the robes of his master, but before he could grab the wand and escape, a high pitched yell from the infant baby caught his attention, as his chest caught a red beam of magic, knocking him unconscious.

Harry was rather happy with that result, but quickly called out "Moppy! *POP* Hide him in another room for now, I'll ask you to bring him back later." He commanded and decided to go over his memories once more while he waits for the next visitor.

He was startled out of his meditative state when he heard a strangled sob from a black cloaked, black haired, black eyed man. Severus Snape practically threw himself over the body of Lily Potter, begging for forgiveness.

This… Was going to be a gamble. Harry knew that the man was a double agent, and he obviously had some feelings towards the woman whose body he was crying over, but he did not know if it was actual love or pure obsession. If he loved her as he claimed he did, how come he couldn't set aside his grudge towards James and treat her son better? It could have been part of the act he had to maintain as a spy… Harry decided that wizards weren't smart. Dumbledore allowed the quality of Potions teaching to plummet for unknown reason. Snape didn't have to teach in order for Dumbledore to keep him close, and even if he did, he could teach well and claim that he didn't want others to suspect him. So either he was incapable or unwilling to teach and Dumbledore ignoring it as a necessary sacrifice, or… What? He couldn't tell.

"Un'ce Sev!" Harry exclaimed childishly, holding himself from cringing as he raised his hands towards the man.

Snape's head snapped towards the child, eyes wide and mouth gaping as he was trying to understand what was going on. The woman he loved was dead in his arms, while the child she had with his hated enemy was crying _for him_. Bright green eyes with deep intelligence and emotion stared at him, and Severus Snape's mind was blank.

"I- I'm sorry!" He croaked before fleeing the scene, unable and unwilling to remain at a place that bared his crimes so openly. He needed a drink.

Harry stared at the fleeing man's back before sighing. He hoped that his little gesture would change how the man behaved in the future, but it was too early to tell. He might need to push it a bit further later… "Moppy *POP* Bring back the man… Put him out of the way." Harry said with a casual wave.

The other two will take time to arrive, Harry remembered that. So he decided to meditate, to plan, to investigate. He went through the memories he obtained, to see the extent of what he could do now, as he needed to know how much he can do without a wand. He had seen that Harry had gained some mastery over wandless magic, but it appeared to be difficult at the time. Since he knew that he had both the relatively powerful magic of baby Harry (relative to babies, anyway) in addition to the immensely powerful adult Harry, he determined that there were two likely reasons why he lacked much control. A stunning spell was relatively easy, but he didn't have the practice that was associated with adult Harry, so it could explain why he was currently rather limited. Then there was the soul shard embedded into his skull, which could limit his magic which may have been fighting possession.

Harry was interrogating Moppy regarding the various abilities of House Elves – useful beings those were, but wizards were too full of themselves to consider that, when he heard the heavy steps signifying the climb of the half-giant. Hagrid stumbled into the room, his sobbing only grew worse when he saw the body of Lily Potter, before he approached Harry and picked him up as gently as he possibly could, all things considered.

Hagrid was cleaning Harry up and wrapping him in a blanket as a distraught Sirius Black appeared in the doorway.

"They're gone… They're really gone…" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Pafoo!" Harry let out, squirming from within the blanket, attracting Sirius' attention to him.

Reaching out his hands towards the bundle, Sirius spoke gently. "Hagrid, I'm his godfather… Please, hand him over… Hagrid?" Sirius seemed to be breaking apart at the sight of Hagrid's reluctance.

"I'm sorry Sirius, I'm on Dumbledore's orders, must take him in."

An argument broke out, but since Sirius couldn't start a fight with Harry in the way, and knowing that Hagrid wouldn't fail Dumbledore without one, he could only relent. Harry really didn't expect it to go any other way, but he wouldn't let Sirius rot in Azkaban at the very least.

"Rat!" Harry exclaimed, pointing to the side. It was rather amusing, in a morbid sort of way, that even in this situation, nobody really noticed Pettigrew.

Sirius growled as he saw what Harry indicated towards. "Hagrid… Take my bike, use it to get Harry to safety. I'll take the bastard to the DMLE." At Hagrid's confusion, he explained, or rather shouted. "He was their secret keeper! I was a decoy, so nobody would suspect him, but he betrayed us!"

The rant went on for a while before Sirius took a calming breath and centered himself, then he grabbed Pettigrew and apparated away.

A couple of minutes later, Harry found himself in a flying motorbike, riding along with Hagrid. He couldn't help but wonder what was the original plan; how would Hagrid take Harry to Privet Drive had Sirius not been there to give him his bike? There were many questions on his mind, but he doubted he'll ever get answers. Harry wouldn't even be able to ask the questions, out of fear that remembering everything too clearly would look too suspicious.

Even with the bike, things were going rather poorly. Hagrid was too distraught to concentrate purely on the flight, and they found themselves going off course several times. Harry used that time to get familiar with a couple of spells that he is going to be using very soon. Additionally, they took stops in several pubs, so that Harry could eat something and not go hungry over the journey that should have been shorter had it been anyone else piloting.

Harry was curious about how people found out about the whole Boy-Who-Lived deal, as it appeared that the main perpetrators would be either Dumbledore or Hagrid. While Dumbledore wanted Harry to live away from fame, would he place him on a pedestal to give hope for the rest of the magical world? It was possible, though there were obvious flaws in that kind of thinking. Either Dumbledore didn't think things through, they got out of hand too quickly and he had little choice, or he had done it on purpose for some reason. Some of the things that Dumbledore did were questionable, but perhaps everybody else had placed him on a pedestal, and with no one to offer advice nor counter him, he could only do what he thought best, so was it really surprising that he would make mistakes, when he had three highly taxing roles?

Yet at the moment, the most likely reason to his fame was that it was Hagrid's usual self, unable to keep much to himself. Harry was glad that continued to study his memories over the journey, as he was able to cast a privacy ward around Hagrid every time the giant was about to share the events of last night to all who would listen.

Night has finally arrived when Hagrid begun to descend towards Privet Drive, where Harry would have to reside for the foreseeable future. At least, if he could 'fix' the Dursleys. He refused to live in an abusive environment, and should they resist the adjustments he was going to attempt, he will escape as soon as possible. He had a few options to pick from, but decided against thinking about that too deeply at the moment, as such plans would become unnecessary if plan A is successful.

He listened quietly to the exchange between the goat, the cat and the giant, and while some interesting things were said, there was little he could do about it at the moment. Though Dumbledore did hide the look surprise rather quickly when Hagrid reported that Sirius was taking Peter Pettigrew to the DMLE, he looked thoughtful. He probably knew that he'll need to talk to Sirius soon, if Harry was to be left with the Dursleys.

The rather thoughtless adults have left him on the doorstep, which surprised Harry quite a bit. It was freezing, and they left him in a basket, with a blanket and a letter. While Harry still couldn't be certain that Dumbledore didn't have his own agenda, he did know for certain one important thing. Dumbledore obviously couldn't think of everything at any given moment, nobody really could, but everybody on his side were too intimidated by his reputation to be a suitable advisor. If the things that happened weren't on purpose, then it could easily be a honest mistake.

Harry cast a warming charm and settled to sleep for the first time in this world.


	3. The New Dursleys

_Harry cast a warming charm and settled to sleep for the first time in this world._

Eyeing Petunia Dursley wearily, Harry Potter hoped that waking up to a scream would be a one time thing. For this part of the plan to work, he would need to be careful, delicate and subtle, qualities that weren't in abundance within the memories of the previous Harry.

The only reason that he had a chance for the plan to work at all, was that the previous Harry was pushed by his desire to be both independent, make things better for others, and an understanding of muggles. As Obliviators would often do a pretty rough job of covering things up, with exploding gas lines being their favorite excuse, Harry knew that the developments in the muggle world would make coverups more difficult, so along with his Auror training he decided to study memory charms. He did not bother perfecting the art, as muggles couldn't put resistance to it, but it was enough for Harry back then, and it will be enough for him here as well.

While it normally would be difficult to replicate the needed results while lacking a wand, Harry had two advantages that countered the issue. One, Gohan was used to channeling Ki and never had a tool to focus it, and two, wands were just that – a focus, meaning that they weren't necessary. The issue with wands was that it was difficult to start along the path of magic without a focus, but it was even more difficult to stop once one got used to them. Having no personal experience with a wand, Harry wasn't hampered too much by their lack.

A moment of eye contact was all that he needed, and Harry _pushed_. His magic responding, making the mental connection that was required for the memory charms; he wasn't going to simply erase memories, but modify them, or rather the feelings associated with them. Harry decided to not go too long back, that once Petunia graduated, she would have slowly stopped being jealous and resentful towards her sister, and instead start understanding the value of family. He placed fear of rejection by her and the magical world as reasoning to not reach out, then over the following years there was worry and hope – she heard of the war and hoped her sister would survive, that they would have a chance to patch things up. Even if she couldn't be part of the magical world, she wanted to be part of her sister's…

Once he was done, he watched Petunia's eyes glaze over as her mind was catching up on the altered memories. With a shudder, the woman returned to reality and looked at the Harry with fear and concern. She gently picked up the basket and carried him to the living room, placing it on the couch. Petunia picked up the letter and slowly opened it, reading as tears started flowing through her eyes.

Vernon Dursley entered the room, about to question Petunia over the state of breakfast when he saw her own state was far from optimal. After the suspicious events of the previous day, he was not happy with what he was seeing. The babe in the basket caught his eye, and Harry Potter went to work once more.

Vernon's fear and hate regarding magic was based on Petunia's own words. As it was her preaching that turned him towards such hate, Harry had to change the content. He did not touch her early ramblings, but from the point where he had Petunia start changing her views, Harry had her open up about her _true feelings_ and over time he even had Vernon help her come to terms with them, making a more kind and understanding man out of him. If he remembers himself as such, he will strive to continue fulfilling such an image, as long as it doesn't seem too out of place for him. It was odd, finding out that the worst of Vernon was actually cultivated by his wife. At least it made the changes easy, so as long as Petunia acted upon her altered feelings, it would not clash against Vernon's adjusted personality.

Nodding to himself, Harry tuned out the adults for a while. The new and improved Petunia would grieve over the loss of her sister, over missed opportunities, and her husband will support her. Harry hoped that she wouldn't be too overbearing as an attempt to make it up to her sister, but he'll handle it as it comes.

At the moment, he only truly needed, and was able, to deal with one thing. In a couple of days, the Longbottoms will be attacked, and he wanted to save them. That will also help Neville's future, as he'll have his parents as protection and buffer between him and his grandmother, so he should be more confident, have his own wand, and probably something better than a toad.

Harry couldn't help but smile. Between Hedwig and Icarus, Gohan's dragon, he had great luck when it comes to familiars. Should he go along with the timeline and get Hedwig, or perhaps pick something else? He repressed a shudder and the Hagrid-esque thoughts of having a dragon, hippogriff or thestral familiar, though the latter would be useful for secretive postal service.

He pushed away the stray thoughts. They were definitely too whimsical for his current situation, and he would be blaming the easily distracted toddler brain for that. Taking responsibility over anything would be preposterous in his current age, and he was already being preposterous enough.

The Dursleys apparently decided to settle him in an actual room - one that in a different timeline was designated as the guest room, which was bigger than what was supposed to be Dudley's second bedroom. Petunia fussed over him, cooing and wiggling the black dog plushie over his head, fed him and left him be for the time being.

Harry quickly called Moppy and bring some quill and parchment while he placed a privacy ward so he wouldn't be caught in action. Dicta-quill ready, Harry decided that informing the Longbottems that they are still a likely target and should have easily accessible backup to call would be the best he could offer at the moment. He couldn't do more than hope that they'll accept the anonymous tip and follow up on it, as he didn't know the exact details of the attack and things could've already changed by now even if he did.

Without exposing his nature to anyone else, Harry doubted that too much would change in the grand scheme of things, at least not for quite a while. Sirius was unlikely to enter the political scene, and doubted that any of the Death Eaters that escaped punishment before, would fail to do so now. Dumbledore will most likely continue to preach forgiveness and second chances for a long time, so the burden would fall upon Harry later on.

Harry hoped that between Sirius and Remus, with addition to Petunia's new attitude, he wouldn't be completely isolated from the magical world. Besides, even if Dumbledore had something to do with Original Harry's fame, it might not happen this time. Whether it's a good thing or not remains to be scene, and Harry was somewhat regretting his hasty decision to negate Hagrid spreading the word. He did not consider the potential power that he could use that was associated with the fame, it was just a reaction to Original Harry's dislike of his fame. As it stands, he probably would've been able to handle such fame easier, though he had to remind himself that even in his own life he wore a disguise when superheroing about... Well, what's done is done.

He would have to wait until his body was mature enough to handle the more strenuous training, so he decided to start with the more internal disciplines. Occlumency would be his top priority, as he hoped it would help him deal with the Horcrux. He wasn't a fan of the original's way of dealing with that, and did not plan on a repeat if he could help it.

It was rather frustrating for Harry to find how lazy his original counterpart was. Due to the Dursleys and his association with Ron, Harry seemed to be satisfied with not standing out and doing the least he had to do. Between fears of punishment, jealousy and abandonment, Harry only invested himself when it came to cases where his life was on the line, doing the bare minimum otherwise, and only when it had something to do with his Auror duties. Aside from DADA, he was decent at charms, passable at transmutation and had nearly no skill at anything else. Since after the war he did not need Occlumency, the skill was obviously neglected.

Aside from Occlumency and at least until he could begin Ki and physical training, he would focus on the regular magical disciplines that are normally offered at Hogwarts, and then branch out from there.

The last thing he had to consider at the moment, Harry considered future friendships and alliances. On a personal level, he would be strong enough to not require anyone to stand by his side when it came to battle. The main aspect he would want from his allies would be intellectual support, advice and research. From his friends he would want emotional support, those that would encourage him and remain loyal on a daily basis.

Of the original's two best friends, Hermione would be kept (as long as nothing went wrong), as the only times she failed Harry in one way or another, she did so unintentionally, or thinking she was doing the best for him.

Ron on the other hand, was a difficult decision. Ron usually stood by Harry, even when things were difficult, but he did abandon him twice, and those were rather noteworthy. The first, the cup, Ron seemed to abandon Harry because Harry was going to be in an adventure without Ron. The abandonment during the camping trip seemed to come due to a combination of lack of comfort while not progressing on their quest.

Since he had the memories without an emotional investment, Harry did have a unique chance at being somewhat cold and calculating when picking future friendship. While Ron was loyal most of the time, Harry couldn't see much of what Ron offered that couldn't be offered by any other person raised in the magical world. The other thing that was on his mind was that perhaps Harry and Hermione befriending Ron actually left a negative impact on him. Perhaps by having one friend that's rich and famous, while the other highly intelligent, made Ron give up before he even started. With such company, thing he did will truly have him stand out from the crowd, and even if he did something noteworthy, people might discount it as something that's expected of him, considering who keeps him as company.

Harry won't reject Ron as a possible friend, but they wouldn't be best mates. He will have to watch for Neville and Luna, as they were of the few that made an impact on the original. It was a shame that the original was so meek and shy, as he made very few connections outside his immediate group of friends, and those they were connected too. His Hogwarts years were almost solely focused on his troubles and conflicts, that he barely had a chance to live the life of a school kid… Which would explain his attitude regarding his fame.

He decided that he would aim for Ravenclaw. His disposition towards both the scholar and warrior life would mean that he could easily be placed either there or in Gryffindor, but he would rather avoid the hostilities between them and Slytherin. Depending on how Voldemort's defeat is told, the junior Death Eaters might not seek him out.

While is personal training would allow him to reach a peak that will make him untouchable, Harry knew that he couldn't do this alone, otherwise he may as well be the next Dark Lord…


	4. Training Siriusly

Harry found himself using privacy wards more often than he initially imagined. Every time he would drop them, Petunia would rush into his room and fuss all over him, making the spells quite essential for both his peace of mind and research needs.

He was practicing Occlumency and found it to be more frustrating than expected. The book he retrieved with Moppy's aid described was filled with theory and described the stages with great detail, and even the first stage, _clear your mind_, was rather difficult, and it made it obvious that Snape never really intended to teach Harry.

The next stages were to sort through one's memories, and then build up mental shields. Those shields would be made from both magic and the memories sorted in the stage prior, where one would layer them, using either unimportant or intense memories to slow, dissuade or block intrusions. Should the original have mastered the art, he would've probably placed memories such as losing at chess on the outer layer, while the inner layer of the shield would be made of being hit by the killing curse or facing the basilisk.

But reaching that stage wasn't as easy as Harry had hoped. While his own experience with meditative techniques was useful, clearing your mind of all thought and image training weren't quite on the same level. Additionally, the fact that he had a toddler's brain, even though his mental age and capacity didn't match, was working against him. While most wizards and witches ignored it, the physical body had quite a lot of impact on a person's magic. Those who could train and master Ki manipulation had to be in top form for a good reason.

It had been a month before Harry heard a word anything regarding the magical world. He did not like the uncertainty, but since he couldn't really act regardless, he decided to avoid the possibility of anyone noticing something strange and did not use Moppy to gather information. Thankfully, he did not need to wait for too long.

One day, as he was sitting in the kitchen besides Dudley, munching on a fruity snack – it appeared that curing Petunia of her jealousy towards her sister made the woman far less bitter and she noticed what her treatment of Dudley was doing to the kid, the doorbell rang and she rushed to open the door.

Harry did not hear what was being said, but after a short exchange Sirius Black has entered the house, glancing at Petunia with a confused and curious expression. "Pafoo!" The warrior squealed, internally chastising himself for such poor control, but allowed his hands to reach up, much to the delight of said man, who quickly picked him up and followed Petunia, who picked up Dudley, as they went to living room.

"I'm surprised…" Sirus started, sounding rather unsure. "I was prepared for the worst. Li-" his voice faltered for a moment, but he pushed through. "Lily said that the two of you didn't get along, I was worried…"

Petunia nodded sadly as she sat in front of Sirius. "I was so jealous of her, I pushed her away… Vernon helped me deal with that, and I wanted to make it right by her, but… Never got the chance. I would've never punished Harry for it!" She said rather forcefully.

Sirius held a hand up, hoping to calm her. "Of course, of course… I had rather unpleasant home life myself, so I was worried… I'm glad to see that I was wrong."

Petunia nodded curtly. "If you were so worried, why did it take you a month to visit your godson?"

Sirius winced at the accusation, then sighed. "Dumbledore was rather difficult, he did not want to tell me where Harry was, claimed it was for his own safety, and took a while to convince. The monster that… That killed James and Lily…" "Mama, Papa?" Harry asked, but Sirius merely hugged him tightly before continuing. "His followers are still around. Dumbledore believed that word would get out of he was defeated, and that Harry would be famous and in danger, but it did not happen. Dumbledore himself considered spreading the word, believing that it would help people heal by having someone to look up to, but he also wanted Harry to live away from fame and have a chance at a normal childhood." Sirius looked a bit lost, as though he couldn't follow some of bit of illogical logic.

"After reminding him that the Hogwarts experience is also part of said childhood, along with meeting other magical children, we reach a compromise of sorts. Dumbledore still expected others to target Harry, and as his godfather they would be looking for me. He believed that his worries were confirmed when the Longbottems, allies and friends of mine, were attacked and only the fact that they were still on guard got them out of the situation safely, with their attackers captured. That's why he demanded I wait for so long, to see if anything else happens, and even then I had to jump through hoops for him to allow me to visit." Harry was rather relieved to hear that his warning saved the Longbottoms, though he wondered why they hadn't mentioned that they were warned, or perhaps Sirius decided to not mentioned it, as Petunia really didn't need to know every detail.

"A lot depended on your reaction to my visit. Dumbledore insists that Harry must stay here, as there is some sort of protection that is based upon your relation to Harry. If you had reacted badly to my presence, Dumbledore made me promise that I would stay away, so that it does not bring harm to Harry…" Sirius finished weakly.

"I see." Petunia said, eyes narrowing. She did not like the accusation that she might be abusive towards a child, though she did not know how real the risk was. Harry wondered what would've happened had Sirius came in and found him neglected and in a cupboard, instead of happily snacking on some fruit. Sirius probably hadn't considered that possibility when he agreed to Dumbledore's terms.

Sirius shifted uneasily. "Yes, well… I'm hoping you won't mind, but I want to visit Harry at least once a week or so, and I'll probably bring Remus-" "Mooey!" "Yes, him, with me when possible." He finished, ruffling Harry's hair.

Petunia sighed. "Yes, of course that would be fine. How could I deny such a thing?" She shook her head. Hesitating for a moment, Petunia decided to leave the room and let Sirius bond with his godson in private.

Sirius kept his promise, visiting often and having Remus join nearly all the time – probably when the days of the full moon weren't too close by, where they played with Harry, brought him magical toys and told him children tales from the magical world. While it was rather childish for Harry, he indulged in it and enjoyed the bonding experience nonetheless.

Between his private training and the times he enjoyed with the adults, time passed peacefully for Harry.


	5. Clearing Mind and Soul

It took about a year for Harry to master Occlumency, and he was rather pleased with the results. When he decided to study the art, his hope was that it would assist him in dealing with the soul shard, but there were several benefits that he did not initially expect.

Occlumency provides greater control over one's mind, which translated to better recall, quicker grasp of theory and greater emotional control, in addition to the mental protections that would allow resisting both mental intrusions and manipulations – such as those from memory charms, compulsions and potions that would provide similar effects.

Harry was also able to separate and set aside the memories of Gohan, which he found rather relieving. That way, should he choose to return to the same time in which he left, his memories and feelings won't be degraded. In addition, he won't have to worry too much about the difficulty of creating relations with other kids his age, as even though he would still be quite mature compared to the others, the greater control he has over himself would allow their childishness to be easily bearable. Finding love for Harry Potter wouldn't be more difficult just because Son Gohan already found his, either.

Sorting through Original Harry's memories allowed him to also discard the memories that Harry felt would be more burdensome than anything else. Even without knowledge of the previous timeline, he wasn't Original Harry, and many friendships and romances would be different compared to that timeline. He didn't want the memories, even without any emotions attached, to affect his decisions. Having thoughts such as _"Ron and Hermione aren't as close as they could've been because of me"_ randomly pop into his head wouldn't do anyone any good.

Having reached a satisfactory point in his Occlumency training, Harry took a deep breath, closed his eyes and began centering himself. Now that he was competent at the art, it came easily to him, and he was able tor each within himself within moments.

Within his formidable shields he could locate two presences wrapped by his own, one large but fragile, another solid yet small. Those were obviously the essences of the two Harry's, one old and one young. It was an interesting sight for Harry, as these essences would seem to be the souls, yet without his own transference, the souls themselves wouldn't be sufficient for Harry to live. The smaller essence was tethered by a dark thread that reached outside his shields, bound to another small yet extremely dark presence, which in itself was tethered to something external.

The presence of the Horcrux wasn't new and Harry easily recognized it for what it was. There was an opportunity there, to attempt to follow the line connecting the Horcrux to Voldemort, but Harry decided that the risk was too great. He did not know how the Horcrux was affecting his own growth, as it could hinder it or it could be draining him to strengthen itself or Voldemort directly. Without training further Harry wouldn't assault Voldemort's soul directly, but if his training also strengthened Voldemort…

Determined to follow through, Harry began stretching out his external protections to cover the soul shard. It took time, but slowly the Horcrux's connections were severed and Harry started draining it, empowering his own soul. With nothing binding the youngest soul, the two souls could merge completely. It was great relief to realize that his own mind would not be affected, considering the existence of the two didn't affect him before, though he couldn't quite tell what the affect of the merge would have on himself beyond knowing that the growth of his magic wouldn't be hampered by split, broken, or leeched upon souls.

It was a shame that Harry couldn't gain the knowledge Voldemort had by draining his soul. He knew that the Horcrux could potentially carry such knowledge, considering the diary, but he did not know if it was an additional enchantment on the thing or if it was part of the package. There were a lot of variables that could account for that, but Harry would be risking his own soul should he be trying to test that possibility, and he did not feel like the knowledge was worth it. He could take his time and do his own research in order to study magic, instead of trying to gain it by merging with a Dark Lord.

It was somewhat frustrating for Harry to find such an easy solution to the issue of having a piece of Riddle's soul attached to him, considering the original had to take another killing curse to rid of it. There were still reasons why the original would've struggled had he attempted to do the same – the connection to a Voldemort with a body would've been stronger, and there were many distractions that would've made it difficult to reach the same level of Occlumency mastery as Harry achieved now, but surely there would've been alternatives to the self-sacrificial route that the original went with.

Of course, there were alternatives. The issue for the original was a combination of ignorance and time constraints. Had he, and mainly Hermione, known of the Horcrux and had the time to research it, they would've realized that while Harry carried a piece of Voldy-soul, it wasn't truly a Horcrux. The ritual that followed the attachment of the soul was required to fully merge the soul with the vessel; As it was not performed, the soul-piece was loosely bound and there were numerous ways of severing that connection. Dumbledore's insistence on keeping information to himself until it was too late, that either the damage was already done or that one would have no choice but follow Dumbledore's plan, left Harry with few options.

In the passing months after Harry had dealt with the scarmort, he noticed that the scar itself was fading. He was rather grateful for that, since now it would never become his trademark, Boy-Who-Lived fame or not.

With Occlumency mastered and his body too young to be able to physically train properly, Harry devoted the rest of his time to studying, with Moppy providing him plenty of books. The clearing of the soul piece eased pressure on Harry's mind that he didn't recognize until now, speeding his studying even further.

Harry was rather excited when he started touching upon the art of Enchanting, which combined Runes, Charms, Potions and Alchemy. He knew that even the technology of the mundane world was far behind Gohan's, but Enchanting would definitely help bridge that gap and allow him to create some things that he rather missed. Having access to a gravity chamber would assist his own training greatly, and knowing that temporal magic existed, at least in the form of time turners, Harry had hopes for creating his own hyperbolic time chamber. He'd make Bulma proud!


End file.
